Erté: A Celebration

A unique collection of more than 100 original gouaches by Erte (Romain de Tirtoff), one of the 20th century's most influential designers in the worlds of fashion, theatre and motion pictures, will go on display at London's Grosvenor Gallery, following it's triumphant exhibition last summer at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, the artist's birthplace.

Grosvenor Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of more than 100 original works by Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth. The works originate from the private collection of renowned art dealers Eric and Salome Estorick, who founded the Grosvenor Gallery in 1960. The exhibition tours from it's successful display at The Hermitage in St Petersburg where it was also the inspiration behind the museum's White Nights celebration.

Eric and Salome Estorick began their association with Erté 50 years ago and the partnership would last until the artist's death in 1990. In 1967 the couple gave Erté his first solo exhibition at their New York location where the entire collection of works was purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later that same year Erté held an equally rapturously received exhibition in London, the centerpiece of which was his Alphabet suite - all 26 letters reproduced in delicate human form, every work a success in its own right, the entire series a masterpiece. The show was a sensation, leading one art critic to remark, "If Michelangelo came back to earth, he wouldn't have had more publicity." The suite was acquired by Lord Beaumont but later purchased back by the Estorick's, remaining a cherished part of their family collection until this day.

2017 marks another landmark occasion - that of Harpers Bazaars 150th anniversary. Erté produced covers for the magazine from 22 years, 3 examples of which were beamed onto the Empire State Building in New York earlier this year in celebration of the magazine's rich history and prolonged success. Erté additionally designed for Vogue, which celebrates its 125th year this year, before accepting a contract from William Randolph Hearst to work exclusively with Harpers.

An exhibition of this magnitude of Erté's has not been displayed in decades and is unlike any other seen before, spanning his entire career and made up solely of original gouache paintings. Just as was the case with the 1967 show, this is an show not to be missed and one likely never to be repeated.